


shitty coffee

by moriphyte



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/F, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-23
Updated: 2015-08-23
Packaged: 2018-04-16 20:32:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4639197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moriphyte/pseuds/moriphyte
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>shitty coffee and all the places to get it</p>
            </blockquote>





	shitty coffee

**Author's Note:**

> Some short stories about the wonders of shitty coffee based on my own experiences  
> Recommendation, diner coffee is the best, or the shittiest, or both

You're tired as shit  
In front of you the road moves in a blur and the morning light makes everything look pink and purple and blue and rain falls in sheets like some asshole turned a shower on in the sky  
Lightning streaks across the sky in brilliant and distracting flashes of blue and white  
Thunder shakes the world, threatening to loosen your grip on the wheel of the car  
Everything is numb and the only thing keeping you planted here is the feeling of your hands on the sticky steering wheel and the sound of Karkat breathing steadily in his sleep beside you  
You glance in the rearview mirror to see that everyone else is still asleep  
In the middle row of seats Terezi is curled up with her head on Vriska's lap, drooling all over the arm of your favorite hoodie, and Vriska is sprawled out in the most obnoxious way possible with her head back against the car window that is stuck open  
Water is dripping into the blurry warmth of the little car and onto her thick black hair and you tip your head back with a sigh  
She's going to bitch for at least fifteen minutes when she wakes up  
In the back row of seats Kanaya and Rose are snuggling together, fast asleep in perfect peace  
You wish you could be sleeping  
You really need to stop driving  
Moving your eyes from the rearview mirror you glance to the side where Karkat is curled up asleep in the passenger seat, head bumping lightly against the car window  
Through the rain you see the blurry lights of what looks like a gas station and pull in. You need gas and some fucking coffee, you don't care how shitty it is, you're getting the biggest cup they have, like 16 ounces of that shit  
You put the little car in park beside the gas meter and fill half of the tank, cold fingers fumbling with the money in your hand  
You climb back into the car, wet body slipping against the seats, and turn the key. You park the car and turn the key again, silencing the hum of the engine and leaving only the sound of rain and the breath of all the people in the car  
You consider waking them up but decide against it  
Karkat would be grumpy, Vriska would be bitching, Terezi would be loud and completely unaware of it, Kanaya would be the only one that's actually awake and acting like a normal human being and Rose would be as nasty and bitter as the black coffee she loves and you really don't feel like dealing with that shit right now  
You just want to sit in the parking lot and down some Advil with shitty coffee and get back to driving with another coffee in hand  
And maybe some Doritos  
You do decide to get some shit for them though, mostly coffee because fuck if you want to drive for another three fucking hours, but also food because they're going to be hungry when they wake up  
You push through the door of the gas station, hand warm on the cold blurry glass  
Inside the warmth of the electric heater humming in the corner hits you in the face and your whole body shakes and stills in acclimation  
The first thing you do is go to the coffee machine  
Coffee is only $0.50 so you get yourself two large coffees and fill them with milk. You get Karkat a small hot chocolate. You get a medium coffee with some milk and a shit load of sugar for Vriska and a small coffee with a disgusting amount of sugar for Terezi. You get a medium coffee for Kanaya with a little bit of milk and a medium black coffee for Rose. Putting the coffees in a shitty coffee tray that will get soggy as soon as you walk outside, you leave them at the coffee maker while you walk around the rest of the store  
You get yourself an apple juice and Terezi and Vriska a cherry and blueberry icee, even though it's like 55 degrees out and raining. You get shitty gas station iced tea for Rose and Kanaya, peach for Rose and green for Kanaya, and you get Karkat some of that naked juice shit, the banana and coco one. You also get a bag of Doritos and a bag of those little chocolate and powdered donuts  
You check out and manage to only spend like $15  
You run back to the car with the coffee tray held over your head, shoes hitting heavily on the wet asphalt, to keep from getting too soaked  
You unlock the car with cold shaking hands and drop the food into the drivers seat, setting the coffee tray in the middle of the driver and passenger seat  
You're concentrating on transferring your two large coffees to the cup holders in the front of the car when you hear something besides breathing and the rain and the hum of the car  
You look up to see a sleepy but awake Karkat  
He squints at you and rubs his eyes  
"Dave? Where the fuck are we?" He asks  
His big eyes are bleary and bruised from sleep and his thick dark hair is a mess worthy of an anime protagonist  
"No fucking idea, dude, I just stopped to get some gas and coffee" you say  
He sits up and stretches, making a small sound that is the most adorable thing you've ever heard  
"What's this shit?" He asks, pointing at the food, voice still tired and slurred  
"I told you dude, I got us coffee and some food" you say  
"Oh, cool. Should we wake everyone up?" He asks  
You hum in thought, "nah, I don't know about you but I don't feel like dealing with that shit right now" you say  
He gives you a still sleepy smile and sits up straighter in his seat  
"You driving?" He asks, still running sleep from his eyes  
You nod, "yeah I guess but I'm switching with Kanaya when she wakes up cause I'm fucking tired and driving in this rain sucks ass balls"  
"Ass balls?"  
"Yes, ass balls, now shut the fuck up and help me"  
He flips you off but starts  
helping you with the coffee. He puts Vriska and Terezi's coffees in the cup holders of the middle seats and climbs his tiny ass over the seats to put Kanaya and Rose's coffee in the cup holders of the back seats  
When he climbs back into the passenger seat you both settle in your seats and just end up looking out the windshield at the rain and the pink and purple lighting streaking across the sky  
You drink your coffee and that shitty bitter sludge is the best thing you've ever tasted  
Beside you Karkat takes out some of the bread that Kanaya packed and a bottle of honey  
You look at him with your eyebrows raised and noticing that you're looking at him he says, "what, it's probably morning by now anyway and I like it okay so fuck off"  
You laugh, "nah dude, I was just waiting to see you get honey all over your face when you stuff the bread in your mouth like you always do, also I want some honey"  
He glares at you and finishes putting a disgusting amount of honey onto the bread before handing the slightly sticky bottle of honey to you  
You take it with a smile and pour some directly into your mouth  
Happy with the sweet nectar melting in your mouth, you hand the bottle back to Karkat  
He throws it on the floor beside his feet and takes his hot chocolate into his hands, wrapping small, plump fingers around the warm cup  
He sits back and leans his head against the seat, thick dark hair pressing against the stickiness of the seat  
He takes a deep breath and exhales warmth into the heavy air  
He closes his eyes and you really want to go to sleep  
You see yourself back in your apartment, curled up beside Karkat under a den of comforters  
On the other side of the room, Terezi is curled up on top of the comforter under her favorite rainbow dragon blanket, drooling excessively onto the ironic Sasuke body pillow that Dirk got you at a con  
He knows you  
Vriska is out right now, probably at the cafe with John using the free wifi because she forgot to pay the bill this month  
You forgot to pay the heating bill so a small electric heater sits on the floor between the beds  
You've considered just going to Rose and Kanaya's palace because they're responsible and actually have wifi and heat because they pay their bills but right now it's storming and you really don't feel like going outside  
You watch the cars through the window as they drive through the rain. People walk and run across the street and down the sidewalks, some ducking into coffee shops to take cover. You love the sound of city rain, it makes you feel like you're home again.  
You blow hot breath onto the cold dirty glass of the window and draw a dick in the condensation. You sigh and feel that warmth that comes from perfectly happy contentment. You settle down beside Karkat, burying under the blankets and putting your arms around him. He stirs slightly in his sleep and nuzzles under your chin all curled up against you. You smile and close your eyes. This is what home feels like.  
Then from beside you Karkat says "Dave" but you don't open your eyes, too content to just cuddle with him under the blankets but he says it again "Dave" and you continue to ignore him. Then he sits up in bed allowing a terrible gust of cold air into the comforter den and then he's shaking you roughly "hey dick head, wake the fuck up"  
You open your eyes and you're not looking at the white walls of your apartment but at the rain falling on the windshield of a car  
Beside you Karkat is continuing to yell something about you being an asshole but you're not paying attention  
Finally you rub your eyes and look over at him. Seeing you he stops yelling and glares at you which is adorable just like everything else he does  
"What?" He asks, seeing you staring at him  
"Nothing dude, why did you wake me up, I was having a hella awesome dream"  
"Because we need to get back on the road. What could possibly be awesome enough to make you stay that asleep"  
"Well it's probably mostly the fact that I've been driving for like 5 hours but it's also my awesome dream"  
"Okay so what was it, spill Strider" he demands  
You smile and he rolls his eyes at you  
"Well, we were at home and it was raining and I forgot to pay the heating bill again so we were all cuddled up under like three comforters and you were asleep all adorable and shit and we were just cuddling and being gay as fuck and it was awesome"  
Karkat's cheeks warm  
"Shut up Strider, I'm not cute" he says  
"Yeah bro, you totally are, ask anyone" you say, wrapping your arms around his neck and leaning your full weight against him in the most annoying way possible  
"Uhg Strider get the fuck off" he says, pushing you away but you ignore him and instead press your forehead to his  
He stops his bitching and looks at you, eyes warm and wide in the darkness  
"You're gay as fuck you know that" he says but the sharpness in his voice is gone  
"Thank you" you say and press your lips to his forehead and then his lips all quick and light  
You pull away laughing and his face is warm  
He swats at you, "shut up Strider" he says but he's smiling  
"Aw come one, this is what bros do remember"  
He crosses his arms and ignores you but he's forcing down a smile  
You lean closer in an attempt to be as annoying as possible "come on say it, bros"  
"Bros"  
"Brooos"  
"Broooooooos"  
Finally groans in exasperation, "oh my god fine" he says and then he's smiling at you  
He leans in quickly and presses his lips to yours  
When he pulls back he's smiling, "bros"  
You really are so fucking gay  
You decide to hang in the parking lot for another half an hour to see if the rain lets up but it only gets worse so you figure you should get back on the road  
You fully tank up the car because Karkat says you need a full tank of gas, pull some blankets out of the hatch back and get back on the road  
You have to keep driving so you're guzzling coffee sludge too fast to breath and Karkat is climbing over all the seats to give everyone blankets since the heater isn't cooperating  
Once everyone has a blanket and he's wrapped one around his own shoulders he settles back in his seat with his legs tucked under him and his hot chocolate in his hands  
The coffee had successfully woken you up so you start the car and enjoy the familiar hum of the engine as you pull back onto the road  
An hour or so later you're on the interstate, the five, in what you've since figured out is Oregon  
Kanaya wakes up around the time you pull onto the interstate and she kindly switches places with you  
You climb into the back with Rose who is just staring to wake up and decide to leave the scourges to sleep  
The rain still hasn't let up but as you close your eyes you find yourself happily falling asleep to the sound of the rain and the hum of the car engine


End file.
